hackSword Art Online
by Demons Anarchy of Pride
Summary: <html><head></head>Part 1 of Five: Eternity Unto Reformation. The World EX, a new reality created by genius programmer Akihiko Kayaba. Known as Sword Art Online to newbies, and The World EX by Worlders, it's the next gen in gaming. However, not all things are as they seem. After all, in this game... your life is on the line. Kirito/Asuna OC/Suguha Azure Kite/Sachi</html>


** /Eternity Unto Reformation**

Prelude: The World's Revival

_"...in other news, the worldwide game that has been anticipated for months on end has finally been put on the shelves in several stores, and so far, over ten thousand copies have already been sold out. The game, Sword Art Online, is the first ever game that was released for the Nerve Gear, however it is also very well known to the players of the popular PC game "The World" and to the 10,000 people chosen for the beta testing for SAO, who refer to the game as "The World EX". According to a brief interview with the man who created the game, Kayaba Akihiko, he designed the game specifically for those who wished to try their hand at the 'true' virtual world, and on another note, he wanted to continue the work of his childhood friend, the creator of the original game, Harold Hoerwick. So far, no new information has been released about this spectacular new game, but one thing is for certain: it is truly the next generation in online gaming."_

I couldn't help but chuckle at that before I closed the magazine I was reading and push myself forward, putting the magazine down on the desk and taking the Nerve Gear Headset from the edge. My computer screen was still on with a NEW MESSAGE alert. I took a brief peek at who sent me the message, and written in the sender plate was AFK. I smiled thinly as I quickly typed on the keyboard and allowed the message to pull up.

_AFK:_

_Have you Dived yet?_

I chuckled. He must have been waiting for a long time! Not wasting a second, I quickly typed again for a reply.

ASH:

_Just about to, I got the game. Meet you over at the town plaza!_

After hitting the ENTER key, my reply immediately hit the screen. Not even three seconds later did a reply show up.

AKF:

_Just hurry up before I change my mind._

I chuckled again and closed out my laptop, pushing my wheelchair over to my bed and hopping on to its soft comfort. Normally, I would have had Shio do this for me, but I've gotten pretty good at doing this by myself. Slipping on the Nerve Gear and plugging in the charger, I put my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, taking a deep breath...

...and grinned from ear to ear.

"Link Start!"

Beginning Link Dive

Body Calibration Initiating

Hearing adjusted

Sight adjusted

Smell adjusted

Taste adjusted

Touch adjusted

All Sense Calibrated

Please enter your login information

**KBOUWQ-9UER2-HJUYTWE-BALJ78**

Log In information accepted

Welcome to The World Online

Shortly after those bold orange letters appeared, the whole area went white as my body felt like it was falling down. The FreeFall was a cool experience, one of which I was dying to show AFK once we started up on the game. I was determined to get him to enjoy actual video games instead of just lingering in one place. Seriously, Aura should have made the guy a bit more like Kite!

As the FreeFall came to an end, my feet hit solid ground and the white space became The World. It was a PC game that was installed into my computer, but thanks to a special program, I managed to link the Nerve Gear to my PC. It's pretty useful!

The Plaza wasn't as crowded as it usually is, but then again, I can understand why. We Worlders dubbed it Sword Art Online, or The World EX, because that's what it was. No matter what the title was, it was how the game was done and made. While it was comprised of 100 floors, it still had the same mechanics and classes, and even better, the ever-strange Chaos Gates.

Once I took look around, I saw AFK sitting on the edge of the fountain, looking gloomy as always. "You're late." AFK said coldly before he got up and put his hands on his hips. "So, are we going?"

"Yeah, just one sec..." I trailed off as I opened up my menu and began working until an option came on my screen.

**DO YOU WANT TO LAUNCH SWORD ART ONLINE?**

I tapped on YES and grinned at AFK, who was looking at me expectantly. "And we're set to go! Okay, time to have some fun!"

AFK sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "How in The World Kite and Aura managed to put up with you, I'll never know..." he said before he walked over to my side and put a hand on my shoulder. AFK is purely made of data, so he can't just hop into a different game on will. He has to cling on to another data being, one with Soul Data, to jump to another game, in this case, me!

I could hardly hold in my excitement as another message popped up on my screen, making a face-splitting smile appear on my face. "This is going to be great!" I said enthusiastically, making AFK sigh in exasperation.

WELCOME TO SWORD ART ONLINE

(POV Break, Normal)

Everything went back to the endless white void that seemed to stretch on forever, orange and black beginning to surround the two's field of vision until the words that appeared on the boy's screen were visible.

Data from Beta Testing is available. Download?

Yes

After inputting his answer, another message appeared on the digital dashboard in front of him.

Enter Avatar Name and Class

A-S-H

GUNSLINGER

With that, the two saw that soon enough, everything began to fade away to reveal new scenery as if the place before was just the curtain. It was similar to The World, with a fountain in the center of a gigantic plaza, buildings of old standing tall and proud with a bell tower sitting at the top, as if piercing the sky. Several hundreds of thousands of players were all together in their starting equipment and average clothing.

However, standing at the front of them were two very unique looking figures. One looked like a menacing version of the Twin Blade Class with stitches running along the pants and top, dark blue sleeves acting in place of the missing cloth, his hair light blue while his only visible eye was colored electric green. At his hips were tri-edged blades, only adding to his visage.

His companion was unique in his own right, as he wore a white jacket with blue edgings, similar to the jacket worn by Master Samurai from the game Shin Megami Tensei IV, except he had on a black v-neck underneath with dark gray cargo jeans with light brown holsters sitting at his hips, along with leather brown boots reaching below the kneecaps. His hair was a messy blonde color, hiding his ears and the base of his neck, while his eyes shined dark blue. The most noticeable feature about him was the two handguns in the holsters hugging at his hips.

Ash smiled enthusiastically as he pumped his hand into the air, obviously not being able to hold it in any longer. "Hello World, I'm Back!" he shouted loud enough for others to hear, though they themselves were excited as well.

Azure Flame Kite, on the other hand, sighed and shook his head and crossing his arms over his chest. **"You're like a child..."** he muttered before looking around. **"So, this is The New World, huh...?"**

Ash nodded as he turned to his friend, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "Yup, except unlike The Old World, this one has a hundred floors, and the monsters get stronger the higher up you go!"

Azure Kite frowned, obviously confused. **"100 floors? Isn't that a bit much?"** he asked. Ash shrugged, a sign that didn't really understand it himself, yet he didn't care either way. He was like any other newbie player, excited for the first time. However, in Ash's case, he was always excited while playing. Hell, Azure Kite remembered Haseo once saying that Ash was a bit too much like his old Avatar in The World R:1, Sora.

And in all honesty, he agreed.

"Well, let's hit the road!" Ash declared as he quickly ran past Azure Kite, still grinning from ear to ear. "C'mon, shake a tail feather AFK!"

Azure Kite frowned again, moving his arms to his sides as he tilted his head. **"What do you mean by 'shake a tail feather'? I don't have any feathers, much less a tail."**

Ash, while running, actually face-faulted in a comical style, his face grinding into the ground. "No, I don't mean it literally! Its a figure of speech!" he said as he got up, shaking off the bits of dust from his clothes. "It means you should hurry up!"

"**Why? It isn't like the dungeons are going anywhere..."**

Ash grinned again as he shook his head and gave his friend a thumb's up. This was the part where, quite literally, both Ovan and SakiSaka had referred to as his 'eccentric entrance'. "But, if we don't hurry, we won't get to fight! Now, come on! Let's go! Go! GO!"

And like many times after this, Azure Kite sighed, shaking his head solemnly. **"Someone please tell me how exactly this fool somehow managed to get me into this?"**

It wasn't any secret that Azure Kite looked quite a lot like the original Red Rogue Kite; in fact one could say that Azure Kite modeled his Avatar after him. But the truth was that Azure Kite was an AI created by the Administrative System within The Old World (The World R:2), or the Ultimate AI Aura, the artificial daughter of the creator of The Original World, the game for the PC. Azure Flame Kite was one of the Three Azure Knights, AI's created to protect Aura at all costs and destroy AIDA's, destructive bugs in the system. Originally, Azure Kite was heralded as 'the Tri-Edge', an infamous PKer (Player Killer) that, supposedly, anyone that he killed within The World would never be able to Log back in. However, after a misunderstanding between him and his new companion, Haseo, he managed to deal with the real Tri-Edge.

Azure Kite, with his job done, merely sought to look after the world with Azure Orca and Azure Balmung, the remaining members of the Three Azure Knights. It was during that time that he met Ash, a very excitable and talented Worlder that loved the thrill of adventure, and often dragged Kite, Tsukasa, Haseo, and even Azure Kite along for the ride.

Apparently, Ash's reason for wanting Azure Kite to play The World EX (Sword Art Online, as called by its official name) was to, and he quote, "help AFK get to know people better and enjoy life". Personally, Azure Kite just didn't understand Ash's line of thinking...

But, either way, he couldn't help but come along for the ride. You don't meet someone as crazy and happy-go-lucky as Ash every day...

* * *

><p>(POV Break, Klein)<p>

First step in The World, and I tripped on my foot, face first. Embarrassing, right? Well, it got even worse, as next moment, I found myself, I kid you not, in the cleave of a well-endowed avatar, and then I got kicked in the balls. Didn't hurt, but it sure as hell felt like it.

Anyway, I had played The World before, and I couldn't tell you how surprised I was when I heard about it being released for the Nerve Gear, in fact I was downright happy. In The World, I was like an expert, but that was way before the enhanced port The World R:2, never did play that. Back on topic, this was pretty good... so far.

The setting was a whole lot bigger than I thought... but then again, it was supposed to have 100 floors. That was a real first, I mean, seriously! A hundred floors in a single game? You have to admit, that is seriously overkill, yet totally awesome!

I hit the market in the hopes of finding a party to form. I mean, a Normal Class like a Heavy Swordsman isn't exactly a good starter, but then again, neither is a Wavemaster. Sometimes I wonder why An-chan chose that class, all they were really good for was support.

The streets were littered with people of different classes and even already went to the shops to buy equipment and items. But, what caught my eye were two people walking around the place, obviously they knew their way around it. What caught my eye, though, was their outfits.

The first guy looked like by far the most terrifying Rogue I had ever seen; with the way his hair covered most of his face with the exception of that eye with the perfect glare! The other was blonde wearing a white jacket, a lot like the one worn by Commander Hope from Shin Megami Tensei IV. He also had, I kid you not, dual handguns sitting in his holsters.

I don't think I've ever seen an Avatar like that before. I mean, there are characters with firearms like Steamgunners, but they always had a blade motif. Those little numbers were pure firearms! How did he manage to get an avatar that can use guns?!

"Hey, wait up!" I shouted after him, running through the crowd as the two turned into an alleyway. Once I caught up to them, I got an even closer look at the two. The blonde hair guy was some kind of pretty boy with a smile that looked like it had been glued to his face, while the red Rogue... yeah, this guy is even scarier up close!

"Y-you guys seem to know your way pretty well around here." I said, panting. I'm still not used to running in virtual reality! "So, are you guys Beta-Testers?"

The scary looking Rogue stabbed a thumb over at the blonde haired player. **"Not me, but he is."** he said in a strange tone.

The blonde smiled even broader, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Yup! Name's Ash, first ever Gunslinger!" he said proudly, sticking out his chest.

Gunslinger? I don't think I've heard of that class before. Is it a new class? No, it wasn't mentioned in the character selection screen. Wait, he just said 'first ever', right? Then, its a class in testing? So then, he must be a Beta-Tester! "So, you're a Beta-Tester?" I asked for clarification. "So, how far did you get?"

"Uh..." the blonde guy said, tilting his head with his arms crossed over his chest before answering. "Floor 75, I think. Kinda hard to keep track when you're having fun!"

I couldn't help but laugh along with him. "I hear that! So, uh, do you think you can help me out? I just started, and, well..."

"**How much of a idiot are you?"** the Rogue asked in a cold tone. **"The game only began today."**

"Oh, lighten up, AFK!" the blonde sighed, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. "Sorry about that, dude here is anti-social as hell! But, if you need help, I'm your man! We were just about to head to a field anyway!"

"Seriously?" I asked, hope brimming in my eyes, clasping my hands together under my chin as I leaned in. "Thanks man! Oh, I'm Klein, by the way!"

"Name's Ash!" the blonde smiled, patting his Rogue friend on the back. "And this here is Azure Flame Kite, or just AFK for short!"

Azure Flame Kite? Now that is a mouthful! No wonder he calls him AFK! But, the whole scary-looking thing he has going on for him might actually earn him some points from the ladies... Man, now I want an Avatar like that to! Well, too late now!

* * *

><p>(POV Break, Ash)<p>

After we entered the first field open to us, called Twilight Field Serenity, I decided to show Klein the basics first. He kind of sucked since he was more used to playing on the PC and The Original World, The World R:1, but he soon caught the hang of it, and before long, reached Level 4. But, he had nothing on AFK, seeing as how the dude carries over his entire level, items, equipment, and stats! I start out at Level 50 because of the whole testing thing. Since Gunslinger Class hasn't been released, its still in the development stage and requires maintenance work done on it. About every week or so, when I play The World EX, I send a message to the game handlers about any bugs or faulty things, stuff like that. So far, I haven't gotten any of that.

Suckish part about all of this is, I don't earn any XP until Floor 50 has been cleared! It totally blows!

"Man, this game is totally rad..." Klein said as he leaned back on a tree, smiling as we looked at the setting sun. Even AFK was enjoying himself for once! "I wasn't so sure about it at first, but this New World... Its all kinds of awesome!"

"I know what you mean." I said, my legs crossed together while my arms held up the rest of me. "The game's pretty cool seeing as how it's the first ever to take place in Virtual Reality, but it has so much more. One of the people giving directions during the beta-testing said something about a Re-Class System being released in a few months too."

"Seriously?" Klein asked with hope. "Man, that's gonna be a relief! Long Swordsman isn't the best idea, in fact, I think Rogue's the best way to go!" he said, chuckling to himself. His Avatar was, as he said himself earlier, a Long Swordsman with red armor shoulder plating and red boots with a red breastplate, exposing his midriff and stomach while reaching to his left shoulder. His pinkish red hair was long; reaching down to his shoulders while a bandanna was wrapped around his forehead. Strapped to his back was a longsword with a red hilt. "So, how did you make you're avatar look so cool, Kite?" Klein decided to ask, leaning in while looking at a surprised AFK with eagerness. It was actually the first time someone had actually called him that. "I mean, I know for a fact that most Rogue's don't look like that, so come on! Did you customize it?"

AFK, I kid you not, blushed as he turned away from Klein, his hair hiding his eyes. **"T-this was how I started out..."** he said, obviously embarrassed by the fact that Klein had not only called him Kite, but also because of the fact that he was the first person to ever compliment on how he looked. **"There was a bug in the system when I logged in, and I couldn't fix it, so I left it as is..."**

"Seriously?" Klein asked, completely disappointed. "That sucks... I was hoping I could remodel my Avatar to make mine look a lot like yours. Seriously, the girls do dig the whole scary, yet mysterious look, ya know."

I actually bursted out laughing when I saw AFK's face turn bright red. Man, I should have installed my Photograph App to my Nerve Gear! This would have been so awesome to show! Aura would absolutely love this!

"So, hope you don't mind me asking this, but..." Klein said, his attitude changing as he scratched his cheek in shame. "What do you guys do in Reality? I just work all day, since I don't really have much else to do."

"Well, AFK here doesn't have much of a life himself since he's always looking after his younger sister..." I said, trying out the cover story I made for AFK. After all, I couldn't exactly go around and tell people he was a program now could I? "But, I'm still in middle school. But, I just spend my days playing online while my cousin does my homework for me. Besides, I like playing games!" I shot up from where I sat, my hands clenched tightly and pumped to my shoulders while I grin was plastered on my face. "In any World I go to, or in any game I play, I can run around all the time!"

"Run around?" Klein repeated, confusing by my meaning until a look of shock came over his face, only to be replaced with discomfort. "Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to.."

"Nah, it's okay! Seriously!" I said, smiling again. "Well, I guess we better get going! Shio will be coming home any second, so I'll be logging off for the day!"

AFK slipped his hands into his pockets as he stood next to me, waiting for me to exit out of the game. **"Let's just hurry up and go."**

Klein chuckled. "I guess I'll do the same. I've got a pizza waiting for me at 5!" he said, swiping his right hand in the air. Popping up in front of him was a gray screen with a list of various options.

MAIN MENU

-STATUS-

-EQUIPMENT-

-SKILLS-

-ITEMS-

-PARTY REQUEST-

-DUEL REQUEST-

-OPTIONS-

After a few more swipes, Klein's eyes frowned. AFK and I shared a brief glance of worry before looking back at Klein. "Hey... is something up?"

"Yeah, there is..." Klein said, uncertain at first as he swiped back to the previous menu and then back to the one he was just using. "Dude, what the hell's going on here?" he said, clearly confused by what he was seeing. "Where's the Log Out option?"

Wait, what? I walked over next to Klein to see his menu, and sure enough, the "Log Out" option was missing from the OPTIONS menu screen. "Is this some kind of bug..." I muttered to myself, trying to think of what was going on. There were various reasons why the option to Log Out would not be popping up, such as a glitch in Klein's Nerve Gear or a bug in the game, or even, as a worst case, the Log Out option was never installed.

AFK frowned as he stood next to my side, his arms crossing over his chest as he closed his eyes. He can actually access the server at any given time, since he's an AI and all that, though he and the System Administrator from The World R:2 don't get along very well, had something to do with the fact that AFK accidentally pulled down his pants in front of everyone.

After a while, he opened up his eyes again with a grim expression (though he always looked like that, to be honest). **"There is no Log Out option listed in the server to any players, even those that have linked the Nerve Gear to their PC accounts." **he stated, shocking both myself and Klein. **"Moreover, it appears that the game has an underlying rule concerning the floors."**

"What rule?" Klein asked, confused. "Is it bad?"

When AFK was about to answer, the sound of the bell in the Fountain Plaza rung out loud enough for us to hear. The weak monsters, the non-aggresives and aggresives alike were alarmed by this and scuttled away from wherever they were originally going.

"Hey, what's going on here?" Klein asked me as if I had the answers, looking both confused and unsure of what was going on. "Is this... an event or something?"

I shook my head. "I don't know-"

I couldn't finish that line of thought as a familiar pair of rings surrounded me and covered my field of vision, the same thing happening to AFK and Klein.

* * *

><p>(POV break, Normal)<p>

Everything was abnormal, even to Klein and Ash, along with Azure Kite was the three found themselves amongst a large crowd of people, which seemed to grow by the second as more and more people began to appear. "Hey, what's going on here?" Klein asked, looking around in confusion, a face shared by many other players.

"Wait, isn't this Magna Catalicha?" Ash said once he got a better look. Just as he had said, it was indeed the Town of Beginnings, Magna Catalicha. Magna Catalicha had various incarnations in the other World games, but in each one of them, it was always a starting point for newbie and experienced players.

"**There are signs of a forced summoning."** Azure Kite stated in a hostile tone. **"It was not done by any game server for a local announcement, it was the game's central administrator."**

"Wait, how the hell can you tell?" Klein asked, surprised. "Are you hacking into their mainframe or something?"

Azure Kite shook his head. **"No, I am linked to both The World R:2 and to Sword Art Online's system. However, it appears we're about to receive an announcement. I detect an attempt to Log into the game, and it is not a standard PC account."**

"What's the spec?" Ash asked almost immediately.

Azure Kite looked up at the now dark orange sky with a glare, one that sent shivers down the spines of many who saw it. **"Game Administrator."**

As soon as he spoke those words, everyone looked up to see the whole sky becoming blood red with bands that read "WARNING" or "ANNOUNCEMENT". The bands continued to form into a large dome before it covered the whole sky, leaving everyone, including Ash and Klein, confused. Azure Kite looked to be a mix of anger and calm as something began to slip between the bands, it looked very much like blood.

Finally, it solidified once much of it had escaped from the sky, but what it became shocked the two. It looked exactly like the Game Master, a guidance system for anyone that was stumped, and could be found in the Options Menu from the Main Menu. However, the Gamer Master no longer had the face of an old man, in fact there was no face, not even a body inside of its giant form.

"What the heck is that?" someone in the crowd shouted, fear in his voice. Ash could hardly blame them. After all, this looked equally as strange as a Epitaph PC summoning one of the Cursed Waves. "Is that the Game Master?"

"Then where's his face?!" another cried out.

It was then that the giant body began to speak in a deep tone, reverberating though everyone like a ripple across a lake. _**"Players, I welcome you to my World... Sword Art Online. I am Kayaba, Akihiko. It is an honor to meet all of you..."**_

Ash's eyes widened, his face a look of disbelief. 'Akihiko Kayaba?! The one that created The World EX?! What is HE doing here?! More importantly, what the hell kind of avatar is that?!' he thought in shock. Many others joined these thoughts as Azure Kite continued to glare. **"His data records are valid. This PC is indeed the avatar of Akihiko Kayaba."** the data AI stated.

"But, what's he doing here?!" Klein asked in shock, only for Ash to remain quiet. However, his teeth were grinding against each other, has hands tightened into fists as his eyes had yet to leave Kayaba's PC body. "And what the hell is going on?!"

_"**By now, most of you have begun to notice that the Log Out option is not present in the Options menu."**_ Kayaba continued on, taking in all of the confusion and idle chatter at once._ **"I can assure that this is not a bug, or a glitch in the game. Rather, this was how Sword Art Online, The Word EX, was designed."**_

"Wait, this was how it was designed?" Klein repeated, frowning. "The heck does that mean? That we... can't get out?"

"No, it should be possible if our HP hits zero..." Ash began to say, however Kayaba cut him off as he began to resume his announcement.

_"**This game was created on certain principles, among these is the status concerning your Nerve Gears. They are designed so that, when your HP hits zero, not only will your Avatar be destroyed... but also your body as well."**_

"WHAT!" a chorus of shouts echoed, and Ash's body was sent trembling.

"That's bullshit!"

"That's gotta be a lie!"

"Someone get us out of here!"

_"**The Nerve Gear contains a specific function that registers your Brain Waves and augments them. Should you die here in the game, then the Nerve Gear will cancel out your Brain Waves, and thus... you're lives will come to an end. This also applies if the Nerve Gear is forcibly removed, or its power source detached. If any of these conditions are met, you will die. Sad to say, over 200 of your fellow players have suffered this fate already."**_

Ash's eyes widened even further, his mouth agape while Azure Kite growled, his teeth growling into a snarl as his hands itched towards his pronged blades. "O-over two hundred..." Klein said in shock. "T-this has got to be some kind of sick joke... I-I mean... The Nerve Gear's gonna run outta juice at some point, right?"

"No..." the three looked over at another player. He looked like some boy from a manga, a hero with handsome looks with dark hair swept over to his right side while dressed in beginner equipment, metal armor over his chest and shoulder with a blade strapped to his back. "The Nerve Gear has an internal battery..."

_"**I am sure all of you must be wondering why I have done this, why the one who created this New World, would trap innocent people here. The answer is simple, my only true objective in this game was to create a world of my own creation."**_

"**Look at him..."** Azure Kite growled in seething hatred. **"This foolish man thinks himself a god!"**

_"**As proof of my words, you have all received a new item in your Inventory. Please, open it."**_ Kayaba motioned, moving his arm about.

Everyone looked either horrified or skeptical, but complied. Ash was hesitant as his fingers moved across the air and began pressing against menus and options until he saw an item listed as NEW! at the top of his Inventory menu, and frowned. It was the Hand Mirror item, which was rather useless unless you were styling your hair. Nonetheless, everyone took the item out.

However, once the item in question had appeared in their hands, the unexpected happen. The mirror began to shine brilliantly, covering the entire square with everyone inside. Ash had to shield his eyes from the light, the item dropping to the ground and shattering. This began to occur with everyone else, and the light began to slowly diminish. "Was that..." Klein said, uncertain as he removed his arms from his face. "Some kind of trick?"

"But... what kind of trick?" Ash muttered, turning to Klein...

...only to see a younger man in his place. He wore the same equipment with the same weapon, however he was slightly shorter with light red hair sticking straight up and a red headband. Klein(?) had to rub his eyes as he looked at Ash up and down while said Gunslinger looked confused. "Ash?" Klein(?) asked, uncertain. His voice was the same...

Ash looked down at himself, and saw that he had grown shorter, down to his size in real life, even to the length of his feet and hands. He also saw that his face had changed to how it looked in real life. What was a pretty boy face with blonde hair and blue was now the face of a Middle Schooler with snow white hair reaching above the hairline and his bangs barely touching his forehead, his eyes a dark green shade, almost like amethyst. "How in the..." Ash said, his voice still the same. "T-this is..."

"_**There is but one way to exit this world, and that is to clear the Ruby Palace, the 100****th**** Floor of Aincrad."**_ Kayaba stated solemnly and calmly, which had begun to increase Ash's hate for the man several notches. _**"This marks the end of the tutorial. Please enjoy the rest of The World EX, Sword Art Online..."**_

With that, the PC body of Akihiko Kayaba began to return to how it was originally, a bloody liquid that slithered its way back into the small cracks between the bands. One by one, the bands vanish and revealed the orange-red sky of dusk. The whole town square was engulfed by a suffocating silence, which was quickly shattered by an ear-piercing scream. The whole square came into chaos, everyone looking at each other in despair and shock.

Klein looked to be among those numbers, but was mostly in disbelief while Azure Kite looked as if he were about to hunt down Akihiko Kayaba and destroy his PC with great pleasure. Ash was silent, his eyes overshadowed by what little bangs he had before he made his way past the crowd, gently shoving people aside before he reached the center. Very few people noticed him, but quickly went back to suffering.

Ash was angry. No, angry was far too kind of a word, but it was not directed a Akihiko Kayaba, the man who had virtually trapped everyone here. His hate was directed at everyone in the square. His face was scarred by a scowl, his dark green eyes glaring at everyone once he stood atop the well. Everyone had given up so easily, they had just lost all hope for themselves in that one instant.

He would be damned if he ever gave up. He removed the gun from his holster, and raised it high into the air. His finger squeezed the trigger, and with it came a loud bang. This was followed by another, and then another. Everyone jumped from the loud sound and turned all attention to Ash, who had finally became the center of attention.

"ARE ALL OF YOU THAT STUPID!" he had all but screamed out. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU'RE JUST GOING TO TAKE WHAT HE SAYS, AT FACE VALUE, AND THEN GIVE UP WITHOUT EVEN TRYING! COME ON!"

"B-but you heard what he said!" one of the player stammered. "To get out, we have to beat all the floors! It's impossible!"

But Ash didn't look the least bit to back down. "AND THAT'S WHY I'M PISSED! YOU HAVEN'T EVEN TRIED, AND YET YOU'VE ALREADY GIVEN UP! I DON'T GIVE A FLYING CRAP WHAT AKIHIKO KAYABA SAYS, WHAT HE HAD IN MIND FOR ALL OF US IS BY FAR THE STUPIDEST THING EVER! I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE UP LIKE THIS! I'M NOT GOING TO LIE DOWN AND JUST ACCEPT REALITY! I'M GOING TO FIGHT!"

Klein looked at Ash in awe, what seemed like a mere boy had turned into a man, one that held a banner in his hand. Azure Kite smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking at the scene with satisfaction. All the players looked at him in awe, and Klein could hardly blame them.

But then someone shouted, "What about the Beta-Testers?"

Ash scoffed. "You're looking at one of 'em!" he said without even giving his choice of words a second thought. Everyone was shocked, yet they didn't say anything. "I know what you're all thinking, and you're right. Most players are selfish, they care only about themselves! This goes double for us Beta-Testers since we have one over everyone else! But that's in ordinary video games! This is a game where our lives are on the line! I'm not going to call out on anyone, but if any of you are more than willing to help everyone here with me, then just come out and say so!"

At first, it was silence. Everyone looked nervously at one another, and a few of them gave a 'hmph' and a growl of annoyance, but then they looked at 1,000 people that raised their hands. Among them was the player Klein and Ash had seen, the one that looked to be from a manga, except now he looked to be younger with a girlish face, black hair reaching to his forehead with onyx eyes.

"Okay then!" Ash smiled as he clapped his hands together. "Now, everyone, listen up! I don't care what the maximum party limit is, you find a Beta-Tester, and you stick with 'em! If you're going on by yourself, ask us for advice, don't leave anything to chance! One screw up, and it's all over!" A loud chorus of cheers echoed all over with Ash pumping his fist in the air. "Starting tomorrow morning, Akihiko Kayaba's got another thing COMING!"

_And with that, a revolution had begun. A player by the name of Ash had started it all, and standing at his side was an AI by the name of Azure Flames Kite and a newbie player named Klein. But in the days to come, standing at his side would be the soon-to-be second-in-command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, hailed as the Lightning Flash, Asuna. It was not just them, there were many others, each who believed in him to the very end._

_I couldn't tell you what I first thought of him. He may have been young, but he had saved us all in my opinion. If it wasn't for him, then the Beaters would have probably been born, and then the rising hate from the players would sky rocket. Now, all of that was averted._

_My name is Kasuto Kirigaya, and this is the story of how I came to meet The Hero of The World..._

**Author's notes:** And I am finally done! I have had writer's block like you wouldn't believe, but I hope that I didn't disappoint you guys with this! Just because Kirito wasn't in the beginning doesn't mean he's still not going to be in the story. In fact, /Eternity Unto Reformation focuses more on my OC through the eyes of Kirito and Azure Kite. I'll have two more stories like this, one being /Eternity Unto Reformation's sequel, and the other covering Accel World. That being said... I STILL HAVEN'T FINISHED THE ANIME! T_T

Anyway, the official pairing is KiritoXAsuna, OCXSuguha, and A-KiteXSachi! Also, in regards to Azure Flames Kite, I couldn't help myself! The moment I laid eyes on him, I KNEW I had to input this guy! Also, before you ask, I'll have a few characters from /SIGN show up, and even in /Eden's Sky, the sequel to this one! Anyway, please leave a review, and tell me what you think!


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